Raw Land and Development help!

[Josh Durham]

Hi, everyone!
I'm a buy-and-hold guy, using BRRRR to work my way from SHF to Multi.

BUT, I just accidentally came across a potential land deal. There is some land adjacent to my yard, and some of it is never farmed. So, I tracked down the owners and asked about buying a portion of it to augment my yard. Well, it turns out, there is already some sort of plat agreement with the city for future development, and the owners are retiring and moving and getting out of real estate. The guy I talked to said I could probably buy the whole property, but not just a portion. He is checking with his partners (there are 4 owners). It sounds like they haven't really talked about selling, but perhaps I called at just the right time given the stage of life/career they are all in.

Soooo...I need some guidance/advice/suggestions. I have a few local people I can reach out to probably, but what are some general things I need to look for before even considering a purchase like this? 

A little more info: It's about 12 acres of land that is being rented to a local farmer for corn. Almost everything around this (well, in 3 directions) has been developed into subdivisions in the last 10 years. It's an upper-middle class town in central IL which has been thriving for the last couple of decades.

Thanks!

[Tyler Hampton]

@Josh Durham I’m assuming this is on the east side of the river, probably Washington or Morton? Or is it west like Brimfield/Kickapoo? I live in Peoria and work in the home building and construction industry. Development in this area would have to be done extremely carefully. New housing permits in this area are almost non existent. You may be sitting on that land for a long time depending on how the economy goes. If you can make some income from the farming side while you wait for things to turn around, then I don’t think it’s necessarily a bad idea, but I just feel like it might be awhile.

It also depends on what you would be developing it into. Single family subdivision or multi family? Or commercial? That would make a big difference Along with location. Just be extremely tedious in all your info gathering. Feel free to PM me if you need any other local building info.